matt ebert: i remember when i heard about it. i remember where i was. i remember being just devastated you know, that he died that way, you know, and i was surprised despite thinking that i wouldn't be surprised. i've heard people say it was his time and he was ready to go and that's bull. that's bull. he loved life and he cherished and nurtured life around him and i'm sure his own would have been right there with it as something cherished and nurtured. i went with his sister and we brought his ashes home. and i uh and i'll remember this as long as i live. i gave his ashes to his mother and she held them like a baby and it was uh you know, one of the most tragic things i've ever seen in my life.

bill richert: he's become a kind of mystical being in people's lives, somebody that inspires them, not because of his tragedy but because of that quality that he had which was always spiritual so that when you see him that magical thing didn't die with him. matt ebert: he was a good friend. he brought out the best in you and uh i miss him a lot.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: hey, good morning, everybody, what do you say. it is monday monday march 18th so good to see you this morning, hope you had a good weekend and welcome to the "full court press." it's a civil war among republicans, cpac ended up with

a big split between sarah palin and karl rove sarah palin said carol rove should go back to texas, and he said if he did at least he would complete his full campaign before he did. and john boehner says he would never support marriage equality. and yet, on another front,septor bob corker from tennessee says it is time for republicans to make sense and start reporting new revenue, not higher taxes but closing those tax loopholes to raise new revenue, but john boehner once again says don't

talk to me about raising taxes. all nothing funner than watching republicans eat each other alive. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying.

you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? ♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: well a belated happy st. patrick's day. hope you celebrated and are ready to go with a whole new busy week here in our nation's capitol. president obama headed off to the middle east.

good morning, everybody, what do you say, monday march 18th. so good to see you today, yep, hope you did have a good weekend and are ready to go today here on a monday morning. it is the "full court press," we're coming to you live on current tv, on your local progressive talk radio accusation, and on sirius xm this hour only. we'll let you know the news here from our nation's capitol. we'll tell you what is going on here around the country and around the globe, and open up our phones and our social media so you can tell us what it all means to you and your family. 866-55-press is our number. on twitter it's simply @bpshow.

more and more of you following us on twitter. by the way i tweet everybody day from the white house briefing room giving you my instant take on what jay carney is saying at the time. and also on facebook at facebook/billpressshow. we all survived the weekend dan henning and peter ogburn. i think you survived the weekend. >> yeah, we're here. >> and siprion bolling on the video camera early this morning. it was such a wild time at the end of last week when we had cpac meeting over -- in oxson hill maryland. donald trump kind of bombed by the way. i didn't see any news from that. >> no highlights.

>> bill: and he said it was going to be the biggest event of the weekend. and mitt romney didn't wake any waves either. and then sarah palin she was a big star -- >> what i found interesting about mitt romney and michele bachmann is they all were giving their stump speeches from when they were running for president. it was barely warmed over from the campaign. >> bill: yeah. sarah palin i just wonder how much money they save her to give the big keynote speech. and she is nothing. she is not tina fey with these one-liners that don't go anywhere. how about background checks.

>> and background checks i guess to learn more about a person's thinking about intention. more background checks. it should have started with yours mr. president. >> bill: oh god. not even funny. >> i can't believe they are back to giving her any credibility at all. >> bill: yeah and similarly when she took another jab at president obama. >> remember no drama obama? if only now it's all drama obama. we don't have leadership coming out of washington. we have reality television. [ applause ] >> bill: yeah. uh-huh. >> except it's really bad reality tv and the american

people tuned out a long time ago. >> bill: by the way who is the only politician to have her own reality tv show. what the hell is she talking about? >> even her daughter had a reality tv show. so that sort of runs in the family. >> bill: yeah, and then they took their straw poll. this year rand paul won but barely, we got 25% of the vote. marco rubio 24%. and chris christie got 7% of the vote. what a bunch of losers. >> when you look at that list rand paul is one of the most

extreme name on the list. but that's the crowd. that's the crowd. >> bill: yeah, far, far too much at attention to cpac. we're going to be talking to the public advocate for the city of new york later this hour. next hour the representative from the seere area club, and cindy will help us through our brackets. and bob portman creating a lot of buzz when he has a leading republican did a big flip flop on marriage equality. but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> march madness now underway. the men's bracket is sweat games starting this thursday. noticeably absent from this

year's bracket is last year's winner. >> bill: i'm working on my bracket now. >> bill: here it is. okay. do i have to fill this out before she gets here. >> no, you have time. she might be able to help you. >> bill:er don't need any help. i won last year. not the big prize, but in this crowd of no nothings. [ laughter ] >> even though barbara walters said elizabeth is not leaving "the view" any time soon the post togethered that joy behar's

leaving is not of her own choosing. >> bill: woe. >> i said that when it talked about the hassleback story, it didn't sound like barbara walters completely shut the door. >> saturday day it was said that anyone who complained about the we saw your boobs song just didn't get it. >> bill: i just thought he

wasn't good. all right. let's take another look at senator rob partman. we talked about this on friday, because there is still a lot of buzz over what he did and why he did it. and i would love to get your take on it, 866-55-press. last week just to bring you up to date in case you missed it. senator rob portman did a public flip flop on marriage equality. he had always opposed it in the past and then he started to rethink it. and the reason is because his son is a freshman in college and came out and told his parents that he is gay. so suddenly rob portman said all of that anti-gay stuff i have been doing, do i want to treat

my son that way? he decided in the and went on cnn and admitted he changed his mind. >> i'm announcing today a change of heart on a issue that a lot of people feel strongly about. it has to do with gay couple's right to marry. and i have taken a position against gay marry, rooted in part in my faith and my faith tradition. my son came to my wife and i and told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice. >> bill: and he said given all of my years of being on the other side of this issue that really caused me to take another look at it. >> and that launched an interesting process for me, which was rethinking my

position, talking with religious leaders and in the end changing my position on the issue. now believe that people ought to have the right to get married. >> bill: so he has done a total 180. now this is rob portman alone. he doesn't speak for the republican party or any other politician from ohio. >> rob is a great friend and long-time ally and i appear he has decided to change his view on this, but i believe that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. >> stephanie: so the issue is not so much who is right and who is wrong but what do you think of rob partman's big change of heart? is it sincere? and more important to me is what

it says about the republican party. look, i want to say right up front, i solute rob portman for seeing the light. i applaud him for being up front about it and letting people know why he has changed his position. that's one more republican voice, and there have been a lot of republican voices caming out lately more and more in support of marriage equality and same-sex marriage but you have to ask the question why did it take him so long and why did he change his mind only when a member of his own family was involved? do you think he would have changed his mind if his son didn't come out to him? >> i don't. >> bill: i think this says something about not just rob portman but here is the problem with the republican party in

general, is they never stop to think that their positions are hurting real people. they never consider it until it's somebody close to them or themselves that gets impacted and then they suddenly see the light. i mean look across the board on so many issues when they vote to reveal obamacare again and again and again, that means that millions of people who cannot afford health insurance are never going to have it. it hurts real people. when they vote to cut head start that means millions of kids are not going to get that preschool education that is so vital and so important that these members of congress can pay for. when they vote to make medicare a voucher program and then not

give a big enough voucher to buy health care, that means a lot of people aren't going to get the health care that they need. a lot of seniors are not going to have the only protection that they have got. you can go right down the line. what about food stamps? they don't care. none of their family are on food stamps so they just cut the program. on the one hand it is a good deal, but, but, but, politicians ought to do the right thing all the time, not just when their son or daughter or brother or sister are getting hurt by the politicians. their votes and policies really do hurt real people and so rob portman, yeah, good for you for seeing the light. wish some of your fellow

republicans followed your example and with rob portman had seen the light sooner and seen the light on a lot of other issues. 866-55-press, 866-557-7377, and by the way paul ryan is the worst of all, and john boehner goes along with that as do most republicans. welcome rob portman to the fold. tell me what you think, 866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "full court press," the "bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. ♪ [ male announcer ] ah... retirement. sit back, relax, pull out the paper and what? another article that says investors could lose tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets

that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

this show is about analyzing criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room tonight at 6 eastern ♪

>> i believe that marriage is one man and one woman. it's what i grew up with. it's what i believe. >> announcer: is is the bill press. >> bill: yeah give me another glass of red wine while you're at it. and do you have a camel i could borrow. he said even if his son were gay, he wouldn't let him get married. huh-uh. but it's across the board where republicans don't -- don't stop to think that their votes have consequences. >> so far pen -- senator

portman has only talked about equality. momma for obama says maybe we should get each gop candidate that has been effected by all issues and then maybe we could get something done. and teamster said to get something done that would require empathy, not often found in republicans. >> bill: good point. danny what do you think? >> caller: i think they all suffer from the [ inaudible ] program. remember wkrp, when there was an issue at the station, herb's response would be wait a

minute, how does this effect me? >> bill: good point. >> caller: and a psychiatrist called in [ inaudible ] extreme when you are incapable of feeling any empathy toward anybody, i think that's called sociopath, isn't it? [ laughter ] >> bill: i get your point, danny, you got it. zach up in new york. >> caller: oh, zach from new york this ought to be an interesting one. and i would -- >> hey, zach? >> caller: yes. >> you are on man. >> caller: hi what is going on man? >> caller: i was talking about this guy who was basically trying to turn having a gay son into a political advantage and

i think it's typical of the totally low class -- >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ >> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv.

♪ >> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. good to see you. we're supposed to have a little snow storm heading towards our nation's capitol this morning, so watch out.

but we're all here and dry. nothing happening on our way in this morning but we'll tell you what is going on there. bill is coming up to talk to us about gun deinvestment and all of the hedge funds in the wall street banks still putting their money into guns that produce assault weapons. we're talking about out senator rob portman from ohio, the republican, made news last week when he said i changed my mind on same-sex marriage when i found out that my son was gay. but it is not on just that issue, on so many other issues republicans are just down right mean to people until one of those programs hit their own

family, and then they have a change of heart. 866-55-press, adele is calling from indianapolis good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill, what i would like to say is first of all i -- i also believe that marriage should be one man one woman -- i said that to say this, i think it's wrong that bill portman changed his mind simply because of a family member. >> bill: rob portman. uh-huh. why? >> i think it's wrong because it shows that he really didn't believe it to begin with. if i have got a family member that was gay, i still would believe -- matter of fact i have quite a few ma'amfamily members that

are gay -- >> caller: so why do you think they should be treated differently? >> caller: i think the issue in our society right now is too widely publicized -- >> caller: but why do you think they should be treated differently, just because they happen to be gay? >> caller: well first of all my belief is gay is a choice and if you choose to do that then you get what comes with it. >> bill: well, they -- >> oh boy. >> bill: so you are saying that they are second-class citizens -- >> caller: no, i don't believe that. i believe that the laws are in place to further our society -- >> bill: woe. woe.

woe. it's not illegal to be gay. >> caller: it's not illegal to be gay, but the laws are in place to have one man, one woman, and because we have got one man, one woman, our population will continue to thrive -- >> bill: but adale, i don't think you have thought this through my friend. we used to have laws that said black people couldn't drink from the same water fountain too, right? and we changed that law. we have changed a lot of laws that we found out that those laws were wrong. we're talking about in a civil ceremony that people can get married. what harm would it be if one of

your gay relatives got married to a person of the same sex. >> caller: it would not because any harm to me. if they decide to do what they decide to do that is on them. what i'm saying i don't believe there should be laws in place -- >> bill: why should there be laws which prohibit some americans from having the same rights that you do? >> caller: because first it's -- it's -- i don't think it's a civil rights issue. i believe that being a homosexual is a personal choice and that's a decision that you make -- >> bill: first of all you are wrong on that, as every study and every scientist has said you are wrong on that but even if you are right. why should they be discriminated

against? this is america adele where every american gets equal rights under the constitution. you are denying them equal rights, why? i mean you haven't thought this through, my friend. i'm just telling you. you have to give some serious soul searching, because you are dead-ass wrong. >> and he could never answer the question. nobody ever has a good reason why do you care. >> bill: i gave him every opportunity. our roving ambassador arnold. >> caller: [ inaudible ] for him, bill. [ laughter ] >> caller: [ inaudible ]. [ laughter ] >> caller: the "bill press show"

is ripping with [ inaudible ]. what you say is very true bill. those republicans they don't think nothing of anything. they ain't got nothing to worry about. they are well-taken care of. they never have a problem of should we either pay our light bill this week? >> bill: yeah they do not have a clue. it's like unemployment insurance. we'll just cancel that, until they are out of work. why raise the minimum wage? right? they just don't relate at all, and they don't care. >> caller: it's very true. and the -- this weekend at the cpac my god, man, you listen to them, man, those real principled

individuals, with the gay situation, they are like the serenity of marriage should be between his second or third wife. >> bill: that's right. doris -- hey, arnold great to hear from you. doris in flint, michigan. >> caller: hi, bill, if somebody lives in society [ inaudible ] is one of the worst in terms of being gay, but even in our society, when gays are revialed and so on who would choose to be someone who is revialed in the first place? >> bill: exactly.

>> caller: and rob portman, the thing that concerns me about him, and many of the republicans and other people that think that way, is they cannot think beyond themselves like you said but thank god in this world there are human beings as well as leaders who can. >> bill: yeah, you take teddy kennedy, one of the richest men to serve in the senate he understand the plight of the poor. but republicans just don't seem to be able to do it. >> caller: and they are so hypocritical, and i find that revialing myself. >> stephanie: absolutely. out in chicago here is john. >> caller: you hit the nail right on the head. it's indicative of the whole

republican party. when ryan cuts the budget when they talk about their pro life you know but they will jerk food stamps and head start away from people. it's a mean arannian-meanness. >> bill: yeah they don't think through the policies and consequences of their votes. >> caller: right. >> bill: and rob portman's anti-same-sex marriage he didn't care until his own son was one of them. >> caller: yeah, and as to gay being a choice that's the key as to why people can't get their

hands around. 99% are born that way. and when you come it to from the perspective of it's a choice well, yeah that just heightens that you are going to be bigot about it. >> bill: good conversation. folks when we come back bill deblazio has been working hard in new york. how is he doing? we'll fine out. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

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(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. ♪

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> bill: here we go 12 minutes before the top of the hour. the "full court press" on abmonday morning, march 18th. well, three months now since the december 14th massacre at sandy hook elementary school but for hedge funds and financial firms on wall street it has been business as usual. bill has made this a key issue of his. he joins us again on our news line this morning.

bill also a candidate for mayor of new york city. good morning. >> hey bill it is a good to be back. >> bill: thanks for joining us again. i know you put out the word for investors to drop these gun manufacturers, and they are doing just the opposite right? >> most of them are. but we have seen a couple of companies go the other way since newtown. we did a report that showed 12 firms in new york city we call them the dirty dozen, they had 1.6 billion in investment in guns and ammunition industry.

we thought the public outcry would make clear to their firms the need to get out, and what we have seen in fact is a new group of firms come in seeking profit. the point in all of this is if we don't break this cycle and this dynamic of business as usual, we're going to have not only these companies strong but they are the funders of the nra. it gums up our entire political system in the process. >> bill: yeah, i saw a story in "huffington post" $79 million invested in gun manufacturers during the last quarter of 2012, which includes december 14th and the newtown massacre. so what are they counting on is

something like that issing to drive people to guy more guns and ammunition? >> what has countered it in the case of several firms is the public pressure. and i say this is the year that we have to make a difference. 2013 is the best chance we're going to get for gun control, and we don't have any illusions about the federal level. so it's really a state and local issue, and i think this economic piece -- i think is a lesson that progressives have to learn again and again, our power is economics. i got my billion and trillion

confused, but this time i will get it out. the state and local pension that is a trillion with a t. so what we're trying to do in new york is put the pressure on these companies, and say there are going to be real ramifications. and we're urging shareholders to realize they have power too. the negative impact on their stock prices on their public reputation, what that will mean for them economically. that's where we have the leverage. >> bill: absolutely. i want our viewers and listeners

to know, to get the names of these firms, it's wall street for change dot-com. right? >> all continuous. wall street for change dot-com. you can find the list and it will show you what you can do as an individual. including what the individual shareholder can do. you still have power to push the investment professionals to get out of the guns and ammunitions industry. and again, to be firm we did see a new firms very aggressively make the move and get out which means the pressure can work. >> bill: so again it's all 1 word, wall street for change dot no, ma'am. are any of the pension invest

ors in this? >> yes, five pension fund holders had money in these companies. in your home state there has been some real progress and in new york there has been some real progress, but we need a nation-wide effort. there should not be a public pension fund invested? guns and ammunitions. >> bill: bill, you are doing great work. again, folks we'll have a link on our website, wallstreetforchange.com. keep up the good light. >> thanks a lot, bill.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

♪ >> announcer: taking your emails on any topic at anytime, this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> bill: on rob portman, glenda says he deserves no kudos. why not accept people the way they are because it is the right thing to do? and donald says yep, the media coverage spins this to say a democrat who supports marriage equality is a left-wing radical,

but when a republican does it they are thoughtful. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: hey good morning, everybody, friends and neighbors, great to see you this morning on this monday morning, march 18th, and welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. coming to you live across this great land of ours from our studio in capitol hill in washington, d.c. giving you the

chance to talk about it yourself. civil war has broken out among republicans here in our nation's capitol. here at cpac a big split between sarah palin and karl rove. sarah palin said why doesn't karl rove run for office in texas if he is so smart. karl rove said if i did i would at least complete my term. john boehner says marriage should still be between one man and one woman. and rob corker said it's time for republicans to start accepting the need for new revenue, and close some tax loopholes, but john boehner says even that is off the charts. he will not accept any talk

about new revenue, and with that we'll talk sports with cindy boren, and keystone pipeline with the sierra club, all of that coming up here right on current tv. billy zane stars in barabbas. coming in march to reelz. to find reelz in your area, go to reelz.com

billy zane stars in barabbas. coming in march to reelz. to find reelz in your area, go to reelz.com this show is about analyzing criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting

my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room tonight at 6 eastern ♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. st. patrick's day is over we're into the week following with a whole lot to talk about here. good morning, everybody. welcome to the "full court press" this monday morning, and the republican national committee just out with a report, they are calling it the

autopsy of the 2012 election. and they said we would have won if only we did a better job of getting our message out. good to have you with us and we're ready to give you a chance to join the conversation any time. give us a call at 866-55-press or join us on twitter -- actually you ought to do both, but if you want to talk to us on twitter, it's @bpshow, and on facebook, facebook/billpressshow. we are so excited this morning to welcome back to the studio. every once in a while we want to show that we are real people care. we really do care about sports. cindy is in studio again this

morning. thanks for coming in. it's an exciting time we're ready to do our brackets this morning. >> i already have torn four of them up. this is one of those years where you are better to wait two minutes before tip-off and just filling it out and sending it in. and spend like two seconds on it. you can overthink this year. that's my theory. >> bill: all right. we're here with our whole team. of course we're coming to you on your local progressive talk radio station and on current tv and cindy a weather man out in san francisco -- i'm sorry in

la, henry decarlo, concerned the hard way you got to be careful, you want to be like willard and give shoutouts to everybody on their birthday -- >> oh no. >> what could possibly go wrong. >> bill: so here he is unknowingly just falling right into the trap. >> oh, dear. >> any way, christy and jill 9th anniversary, and hugh genius. >> i'm sorry. >> i totally fell for it, didn't i? [ laughter ] >> hugh jaynus. and he was unsuspecting.

fortunately [ inaudible ] picked it right up. >> yeah. >> we'll have to see what our new man, pat mccrotch has to say about this. >> bill: yes indeed. we're joined by kate colaruli from the see area club talk about keystone pipeline, but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> overhead lines making news conan o'brien is stepping in to help with al franken's reelection. al is having a lunch on with

conan at his house for raffle tickets. the new pope delivered off the cuff remarks, and spoke entirely in italian, offering some rather casual and humorous comments and he has a habit of stopping and talking to random people to greet and chat with him. >> bill: i like the style of the new pope. you don't expect him to really change the rules of the church but he could change the emphasis of the church where the church will start talking more about the poor and social just

advertise and stop talking so much about sex. so without changing the rules he could change the im emphasis. >> i'm interested to see how he deals with the nuns. >> and forbes magazine releasing its list of the most influential celebrities, and queen oprah is still number one. steven spielberg is somebody 2 followed by martin scorzazi. >> i would say george clooney is above oprah at this point. you don't even know where to find oprah anymore. >> yeah. [ inaudible ] but that's it.

>> bill: yeah, interesting. all right. we can disagree with that. >> we have a lob with the listen in, bill. >> bill: i'm number 11. so much to talk about, cindy. i saw this story on your blog about this greek soccer player. >> yeah, he was playing on saturday and he scored the goal that gave the team the go-ahead goal, but he plays on aek athens and gave a nazi salute after the goal. he claimed he was saluting an yir injured player who was in the stands, and then he claimed he had no idea what it meant. >> bill: what happened to him? >> he has been banned for life

from the greek national team. >> bill: woe, that's pretty harsh. so he could play maybe on another team -- >> yeah not on the greek national team right now. they could change their minds -- >> it's reminiscent of the black power solute -- >> but that was an actual social cause. these were people that were -- had a legitimate civil rights -- >> bill: yeah, i didn't mean to identify the two. >> yeah, i understand. but this is so abhorrent, he is 20 years old. i guess if i were in his shoes, i would say i'm 20 year olds i didn't know what i did. >> bill: right. >> and this was europe you

know? maybe in this hemisphere it might have been taken a little less badly -- >> bill: if he had only got down on his knees and done this, then nothing would have happened. >> yeah. i don't know where tebow will be doing that next year. >> bill: on a more serious note i was really stunned last night watching the coverage of the final verdict in the stewbonnville, ohio in that rape case. the way the case even developed was all through the social media. >> yes, subbonnville has a really powerful football team. one of the kids who was convicted is a quarterback and

he was sobbing and saying my life is over well yeah, it kind of is. i think he was sentenced to a minimum of two years well that's tough. and it all came out because the girl accused them but the interesting thing to me i think it's probably a little bit more ground breaking in terms of prosecution, because it is all social media. the prosecution used the time line of text messages of the video of the girl completely nude lying there passed out -- >> bill: and another shot of the two of them carrying her -- and whoever took those photos was sending them already -- >> oh, yeah. >> bill: and the players were

trying to tell this girl don't complain, because that could really wreck our chances to play football. >> right. and there were texts back and forth between the quarterback and the girl. >> it's a whole new world for cases like that and the way they use social media and electronic media and basically these guys gave the prosecution all the evidence they needed. >> bill: yeah, it also -- i mean, this sports macho sports world -- >> yeah. >> bill: it's not just among professional players. this attitude that we are stars and we can get away with anything even at the high school level, right? >> yeah it is different in some states. in ohio and texas it's a really

big deal. >> right. >> bill: but this culture -- >> i think the quarterback even texted her and named the coach and said oh the coach will take care of it. >> yikes. >> so we'll see how that shakes out for him, but it just goes to show if you are an athlete you can't do anything -- you have to be very, very careful. and i don't mean to say you didn't do anything. these guys were doing wrong, but everyone has a cell phone and camera, and everyone knowing how to up load a video to youtube. >> bill: and it says something about the emphasis we place on sports. >> yeah. you can't get i way with it now. it would have been interesting to see how this would have affected some of the old-time

cases, the kobe bryant case the duke lacrosse case social media could have had a different impact. >> bill: i read a story -- sorry -- >> that's okay. you can look at the "new york times." >> bill: but there may be more people named. >> yes. >> bill: let's get to the bracket. >> oh, makes my hair hurt >> bill: and if you have your brackets at home, this may be a good time to get some tips. >> no, just do the opposite of everything i say. >> bill: okay. >> she can give advice. but she cannot going to fill out your bracket.

>> bill: when do i need this? >> well, you need to get the tuesday night bracket filled out. >> why don't we just put every team in the ncaa in the tournament. >> that works for me. >> bill: much science goes into this and how much plain good luck. >> one year i submitted it literally less than 60 seconds ahead of tip-off, and i won. it's a crap shoot. >> i don't think you have ever watched a college basketball game in your life. >> bill: no. and i won last year. >> see so who do you like this year? >> bill: i sort of ask this have

been to that town? do i like the team colors. >> here is bill one i was at that time and had a great reuben sandwich. >> well, there's a lot of validity to that. >> bill: all right. let's take a quick break and when we come back we'll put the pen to paper. >> announcer: this is the "full court press," live on your radio and on current tv. ♪ the issues of the day. >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> with a distinctly satirical point of view. if you believe in state's rights but still believe in the drug war you must be high. >> only on current tv.

we have a big big hour and the iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. ♪

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. twenty-5 minutes avenue the hour. vice president joe biden in rome. we are here in our studio with cindy boren with the "washington post." all right. guys why do we go? let's go right to the final four? >> let's do it. peter and i both like louisville. ganzaga is the number 1 seed. but i'm picking ohio state. >> i'm going with wisconsin. >> i'm going with ohio state. >> yeah wisconsin and ho ho

state play -- ohio state played yesterday. >> uh-huh. and louisville has to get past duke, and you and i came up with a new rule any team that beats duke twice automatically gets in. i really do think that lou -- louisville should get the about 1 seed. >> i have miami beating indiana. >> i do too. their coach is 63 and he said i want to see if this will work on a bigger left he left mason,

and guess what -- >> they were a phenomenal basketball team. >> so i have miami fever. and finally we have the kansas number 1 seed in that south region, against georgetown. >> i have kansas beating georgetown. >> see, i have it the other way around. i have no faith in kansas this year. i'm not sure why i have such faith in georgetown after what happened this weekend. >> yeah they had a rough wednesday. >> bill: so you agree on louisville and miami, and then ohio state and kansas -- >> that's where we'll duke it out. >> i think at any end of the day louisville will take it all. >> all right. >> bill: you have to come in in

the middle of this and see how we're doing? >> what to be flogged. >> bill: our new sports blog flog. [ laughter ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

♪ >> announcer: chatting with you life at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> bill: here we are thirty-three minutes after the hour now, already on a friday -- friday? woe, monday morning. hello, yeah, i had a good weekend. great to see you this morning. thank you for joining us on the "full court press." coming to you live from our nation's capitol, and on studio

on capitol hill. brought to you by the good men and women of aft, making a difference every day in america. big congress back to work this week. one big vote coming up in the senate on the keystone pipeline. president obama asked about it last week as well, and it has become an issue in the senate race. kate is joining us in studio this morning. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. >> bill: where are we with this process? it's still the state department that has to act right in >> that's right. what is going on right now is

the state department has been conducting this major environmental review on these tar sands, and bringing down some of the most toxic and polluting oil down through the united states. they are going to hold a public hearing in nebraska within a month, and once that process wraps up then eight federal agencies will get together and determine whether or not this pipeline is in our national interest. and the president then will make a decision on whether or not to approve the pipeline. we expect that we'll probably see a decision this year. maybe early october? >> bill: can you tell from the draft environmental impact report whether -- what the conclusion is?

that it's environmentally okay or not? >> that's the big game in washington right now is guessing which way the president is going to go on this. >> bill: what does the report say? >> it wasn't fine the level -- in some ways it kind of vacillates. it found that most of this oil will be exported and there are still very sensitive echo regions that the pipeline goes through, and some people have read the tea leaves to say the state is in favor, and other people are saying what is the big deal? so the president met with republicans last week and there was a hah bah bah lou around

what he thinks but he basically said here is what the report says. and now we'll see. >> bill: do you feel your chances in the state department have improved now that john kerry is secretary of state. >> yeah, kerry has been a long time climate spokesman, and if this fight is taken with a climate change context, then we would hope that kerry would say no. >> bill: since he has been secretary of state he hasn't said anything. >> no, he has been a little bit busy over in syria. >> bill: he has. will he say here is our report, and here is what i think you ought to do? >> well, the law could be

interpreted either way. my guess is that kerry will be involved and there will be substantial conversations that happen with the white house and kerry. >> bill: ed mar i can has been another champion on environmental issues. he has been way out in front on global warming. he is going to be the democratic nominee, it looks like for the senate seat up there. what -- what difference could he make? he is still talking about it, right? >> yeah, he has been outspoken opponent of the tar sands. so i imagine this will continue to be an issue in his election race. >> bill: are you making it an

issue in his election. >> we are. we have endorsed marky. we think he would be a fantastic leader for massachusetts. i think the politicization that has happened around this pipeline is causing a lot of different problems. we have seen 14 senator put forward a bill to approve the pipeline, and compared to their counter pipes, the ones that support keystone have taken over 200% more in financial contributions from oil companies. so we would like people to make the decision on keystone based on the facts. so we would like this to step back and not be as political as it has been. >> bill: there is a pipeline bigger than the keystone

pipeline, which is the number from the oil companies gushing into congress, and you are not going to stop that. >> we're on twitter by the way @bpshow, and somebody brought up the comment about how barack obama has already gone on record about this, saying it is not good for the environment. >> this pipeline would create 35 permanent jobs and yet if you were to read the normal media reports, you would think this was a creator of hundreds of thousands of jobs. so this is an export pipeline. this is going to create major risks for the us. it goes through one of the largest sources of fresh water, and we don't need the oil. >> bill: what is happening in

the senate this week. i know we have talked ahead of time that the senate is voting on this issue -- >> potentially. the budget bill is moving through the senate this week and there is a lot of talk that an amendment will be introduced. so there is a group of senator, again, heavenly backed by oil money, that are pushing an amendment to take the control away from the president and moving the vote to congress. >> bill: who were the senators who are leading the opposition to keystone? >> senator hoven and boxus who have stepped forward for it.

senator boxer, senator white house. and like i said before, unfortunately the oil contributions to the senator in favor of the tar sands and the pipeline super skewed. >> bill: is this pipeline -- somebody asked me this the other day. is this pipeline above ground or would it be buried? >> it would be buried. it supplies all of the corn in this country, mainly places like nebraska, kansas and the pipeline would be literally buried in the middle of this aquifer. and the pipeline leaks.

so there is a lot of concern about the water quality. >> wow. >> that's terrifying. >> it is and tar sands are really chemically different than oil. they are much more corrosive to pipe. they have to be heated and move through pipe at high temperatures. the combination of heat and the corrosive value, muches it much more dangerous. it is a new form and very unregulated unregulated. >> bill: what can people do to stop the keystone pipeline. >> this week i think it's all about calling our centers.

one, this is not about the federal government's budget. and two, if a vote came up that they should say no. >> bill: and do so by going to sierraclub.org. >> yes, we'll have information on our website. >> bill: and what individuals can do. >> exactly. because we need to send a strong message this week and the coming weeks and make sure the president understands. >> bill: i don't think it's too early to start getting the word in the white house that the president should not be moved to approve this. >> right. we keep saying this is che change we asked for.

it's a change we can believe in. >> bill: all right. kate thank you for coming in this morning. >> thank you so much for having me. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." ♪ young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. ♪ >> announcer: on your radio, and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, what do you say twelve minutes now before the top of the hour. the republican national commit

see the out with a 98-page report detailing what they think went wrong last november. >> this will be rich >> bill: yes, we'll tell you about it in just a minute. a guy in tennessee received a letter from a virginia bank from which he did not have an account, saying his address had been changed to a street in chicago. found out somebody used his name and social security number to open up a credit card. you have to be protected as i am with lifelock ultimate. call now and mention press 60 and you will get 60 risk-free

days of lifelock ultimate protection. see lifelock.com for details and then make that important call to 1-800-356-5967. yes, reince prebus reelected chair of the republican national committee. god knows why? but they are calling it the autopsy for the republican party. the use of that word is very funny. because you don't conduct autopsies on people who are sick or expected to get better. [ laughter ] >> you are exactly right. >> bill: you do an autopsy on a

dead corpse right? and ryan prebus gave some recommendations. >> i think our primary process is far too long. i think we had way too many debates, and i think they had to wait too long to get to the convention. i'm calling for a convening -- convention? june or july. >> bill: yeah. yeah. good luck with that. i do think there were too many debates, but among other things for the republican party to reform themselves first of all they are calling for comprehensive immigration reform. they believe again, that they should have a shorter primary

process and fewer debates. they also propose major improvements to the party's day da base and digital technology because they don't have a database. and democrats have done a great job of building a database. and spending $10 million in outreach to constituencies that they lost the last time in other words every constituency ex-september older white males. and we have heard this before. and they never do the outreach and it never works. >> on twitter, ari has been tweeting all morning.

he says young voters are rolling our eyes at us. when someone rolls their eyes at us, they are not likely to open their ears to us. he also says our standards could be a more welcoming party. >> bill: they say too often the party is seen as the party of stuffy old men. this is john boehner yesterday, talking about same-sex marriage. >> i believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. it's what i grew up with it's what i believe. >> bill: there he is the poster boy, right, for stuffy old men.

stuck in the past, refusing to budge. refusing to compromise. refusing to recognize the new reality. that's what is wrong with the republican party and i got to tell you, and we saw this at cpac look at how they were split like marco rubio, hey, there is nothing wrong with the party, we just need to package our party better. no it's not the pizza box that sucks. it's the pizza that the republican party is trying to sell us. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

this show is about being up to date, staying in touch with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. in reality it's not like they actually care. this is purely about political grandstanding. ♪

>> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show," now on current tv. >> bill: oh, yeah. oh, yes. big hour coming up. in the next hour we're going to be talking the economy and the dow with jennifer ericsson from the center for american progress, and then we'll talk about cpac and james homan was at cpac and he'll be here in studio with us. the president is kind of kicking back this morning. he has private meetings in the morning, getting the daily briefing and then at 4:40 this afternoon we'll be delivering marks at a women's history

gathering. another hour of the "full court press" coming up.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: good morning, everybody. itit i is s mondayayararchch 1 18th. welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. we're bringing you up to date on all of the latest developments here in our nation's capitol, around the country and the

globe, whatever is happening we'll tell you about it. and you get to tell us what it means to you by giving us a call at 866-55-press, joining us on twitter @bpshow, and there is a civil war among republicans. sarah palin said karl rove if he's so smart he ought to go back to texas and run for office, and karl rove shot back and said well if i did that at least i would complete my first full term. on another front senator from tennessee, bob corker says it's time for republicans to say, yes, we will consider new revenue, and close those tax loopholes, but john boehner said don't talk about new revenue, it has to be only spending cuts

and then rob portman, senator from ohio says i support marriage equality but john boehner says nope it is still one man and one woman only. we'll talk about that and more right here on current tv. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv.

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billy zane stars in barabbas. coming in march to reelz. to find reelz in your area, go to reelz.com this show is about analyzing criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting

my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room tonight at 6 eastern ♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: in a 98-page report, 98-page report, released this morning, the chairman of the republican national committee says the republican party looks like a bunch of scary old men. he said that. i didn't. but he is right. good morning, everybody, what do you say?

great to see you this morning on monday march 18th. we're coming to you live our studio on capitol hill bringing yule of the news of the day here from our nation's capitol and we look here around the country and around the globe, and give you a chance to sound off on it. give us a call and you can tell us what you think at 866-55-press, or if you live in the 21st century you can follow us at twitter at @bpshow. lots going on today, particularly on the economic front. the dow finally popped after ten days in a row of record highs. she is in charge of

competitiveness and economic growth at the center for american progress, our guest in studio for the next half hour jennifer ericsson. good to see you. >> good to see you, bill. >> bill: i met bishop gene robinson who is a fellow now at the center for american progress. >> yeah, he is a great guy. >> bill: yes i have always admired him very much. we have the whole team here. president obama leaves wednesday for the middle east. his first visit to israel as president. he gave an interview to israel too the other day where he talked about one of the things

he misses most. he lives not so far from where you live, jennifer. i forget the name of the park -- >> stanton park. >> bill: right. so he lived in the hood here and he liked to just walk around, pop into restraints can't do that anymore. >> obama: sometimes i have this fantasy that i can put on a disguise and wander through teleaeve and go to a bar and have a conversation or go down to a university and meet with students in a setting where it wasn't as formal and we're going to try to find as many opportunities as i can to interact with the israeli people, but you have tapped into something that chases at me.

>> bill: i have heard the first lady say the same thing, wouldn't it be nice to go for a walk? no, there was a time. eleanor roosevelt used to do that, but no longer. and imagine having that kind of restriction, right? >> i can't even imagine what that must be like. really and truly. >> bill: when they say they are a prisoner of the white house, they really are. so kate is here with us -- i'm sorry, jennifer for the first half hour to talk economy, and later we'll be joined by james holeman who was at cpac. but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full

court press." >> college basketball the ncaa men's basketball tournament is getting set to start tomorrow. noticeably absent are last year's national champions, the kentucky wildcats. >> bill: how could they knock kentucky out? >> they lost three -- what three players to the nba draft last year? >> yeah, and they had a star player that went out with an injury, and i think the other thing is, they are probably sparing kentucky the embarrassment of going out in the first round. >> bill: really? >> they are just say you are

done. they will rebuild. >> bill: yeah, but kentucky probably would have gone out in the first round. >> senator al franken is seeking help from an old friend with his election campaign. he is offering up a lunch date with conan o'brien as a top prize for a fund-raising contest. >> bill: it's not like having george clooney. he raised $12 million that night for barack obama, if you remember? >> yeah. >> bill: a lot of it from the lottery. >> yeah, that's right. >> and even though barbara walter said [ inaudible ] hassleback is not leaving "the

view," the producers say differently. and they also suggested that joy behar leaving the show is not of her own choosing rather the network is letting her leave gracefully. >> bill: wow. >> it's like a soap opera. >> bill: all right. jennifer the dow we have following it and ten days in a row with a new high and friday it finally popped but only fell 25 points. so what does that tell us? we're in full economic recovery? >> i wish. but what it tells us is that the dow jones industrial are doing

very well. that means 30 large companies are doing well but if we want a barometer of how the u.s. economy is doing, then we need to look at growth and jobs which is better than it has been, but not something you would want to pop champagne corks just yet. we should be concerned about what could happen with the sequester. in terms of jobs we had a really good jobs number for february. 236,000 jobs added. but, you know, we should remember, we still have 12 million americans unemployed. so while the jobs picture is getting better we still have a lot to do. >> bill: 236,000, like what

should -- for a robust recovery what should it be? 400 or? >> well we want to start seeing numbers like 236, 300,000, 400,000 would be great -- but more consecutively. but to be at 7.7% unemployment, again much better than we were but still a long way to go. >> bill: i saw our good friend stewart van hollen he said with all of this talk about deficit reduction that it is a misplaced focus, that the real priority should be on job creation. but it seems that too many

people in congress who just think the most important thing is to cut cut cut. so is the deficit really the most thant thing? is the deficit out of control, or is job korea payings more important? >> chris van hollen is right. we have over 40 million american families living in poverty. these numbers carry with them a really human toll. so if we want to be looking at the long-term success of the u.s. economy, then balancing the budget in the short term is a really short-term mistake. >> bill: in other words the best

thing we could do to grow the economy is put people back to work. >> yes, and make the sorts of investments that will get people to work today, take a look at pre-k. you are not only employing a lot more full-time teachers but at the same time you are investing in future workers. >> bill: how can it be that you have got -- again, the dough -- these new record highs, corporate profits record high financial institutions are back on their feet and making as much money as they made before and maybe even more so where is all

of the money going? >> corporations have been sitting on a lot of funds. so they are not necessarily reinvesting in the company in hiring, because they are not convinced that the need will be there on the other side. so it's part of the feedback of people having good jobs. >> bill: but have they also learned or at least believe that they -- that having survived -- tightened their belt, if you will and having survived that they can actually make as much money with fewer people, so why hire more? >> some companies have found that, and you see this in part as a result of technology and rising worker productivity but

that's story is important too, because many people are being asked to do more and more they are proving more productive at work, but they are not seeing higher wages. >> bill: right. your take on the economy and job creation here call at 866-55-press. so how would you rate the american economy in general? >> i think improving,. if we saw good job numbers like we did last time that would help. >> bill: isn't a lot of this

psychological? >> it's important for a lot of consumers. do you decide to remodel your home buy a new car, but it only gets you so far if you don't have a paycheck. so this is where the harreality comes in and why we need to get people back to work. >> bill: to me the economy is definitely improving, and a steady progress in the right direction, and some good indications, but if you did a survive right now, i think most people would say the economy is sick. >> right. and they are seeing these

debates over the sequester, ta i think that hurts people's confidence. >> bill: you heard her way the priority should be jobs jobs jobs. is it? and what should we do about it? we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the washington dc, where he hosts current tv's "full court press." ♪ ♪ converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. while your carpets may appear clean. it's scary how much dirt your vacuum can leave behind. add resolve deep clean powder before you vacuum to expel the dirt within your carpets.

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you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's

what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show," love on your radio and current tv. >> bill: all right. here we go. twenty-five minutes after the hour on the "full court press."

we're going to talk cpac sarah palin, donald trump, and all of those clowns in the next half hour. right now we're talking the important issue of the economy with jennifer. i have got to ask you, you have been back for a while, but you were in scotland working with the financial firms over there. >> right. >> bill: as bad as it is here it must be pretty rosy compared to europe these days right? >> right. absolutely. and if you really needed to look at an example of austerity in action look at the uk. they are in a triple-dip recession right now. it's just ignoring basic facts not only about how the economy works but how it is working in

other countries right now. having said the united states the economy is improving, i would much rather be sitting here than over in europe. >> bill: bill is calling from georgia. >> caller: good morning, bill. >> bill: hi, what is your comment? >> caller: my comment is i agree with jennifer. when republicans get into power, they spend spend, spend like a drunken sailor because they know when we spend there will be problems and progress and the economy will grow and everybody will be okay. >> bill: it is true that there is a lot of big spending during

the bush years which was not paid for. >> exactly. and that's why a lot of us that listen to the people talking about the importance of the deficit, and we think where was that in the 2000s. the basic concept should be when the economy is doing better that you cut back, and when it is struggling you make sure the government is doing their part. >> bill: and that formula has always worked. >> right. >> bill: and i think it works with president obama's stimulus bill. >> yeah, absolutely. >> bill: if he got a bigger stimulus, the economy might look better than it does. jennifer thanks so much for coming in this morning.

>> thank you. >> bill: we'll be back and talk cpac with james holmman from "politico." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: here we go. thirty-three minutes after the hour. coming to you live from our studio here at the capitol, washington, d.c. this hour brought to you by the united steal workers,

north america's largest industrial union. for more information about their good work go to their website at usw.org. if you are interested in politics at all, you'll note that cpac where the republicans tried out their conservative leaders to throw red meat to the mob, and also to try to take a look at who might be leading the republican party in the next presidential election. this year's meeting was as colorful, i think, as they have ever been, and we didn't have to go because james hohmann was

there. thank you for going. >> good morning, bill. it was a lot of fun, actually. >> bill: we expected donald trump to make a big splash and he didn't. >> he gave a really boring speech and he had this press conference, and it was trying to tea him up to criticize people like bill maher. and it just fell flat. i think his kind of star on the right has finally passed. >> bill: that is interesting. >> yeah. >> bill: and he himself was saying this was going to be the big event of the weekend. >> huge was his word. [ laughter ] >> bill: also mitt romney didn't seem to make much of an impact but here is mitt romney saying, well, people say we have lost

our way, not true. >> we may not have carried on november 7th but we have not lost our country or our way. >> bill: how was he received? >> he was really greeted in indifference. >> in other words the same as the election. lukewarm. >> bill: yeah, was wondering why he was even invited. he is not going to run again he is not leading the party. >> yeah may favorite part was he said having just lost the election, i am probably not the guy to look to for advice. which is true. but they want attention and they us to be talking about it, and i

think they probably thought romney had a lot to say. he spent a lot of his speech saying the people you should look to are republican governors in blue and purple states and he specifically mentioned chris christie who wasn't invited, but then he had a throw-away line thanking his running mate paul ryan. and paul ryan spoke earlier and didn't say a word about the election. and then romney takes the stage and said look to the governors, and by the way my running mate paul ryan was great. just as a throw away. >> bill: wow. he did mention christy, when christie pointedly was not involved. what other governors?

>> bob mcdonald, and the only other governor was scott walker. he credited rick snyder from michigan with taking on right to work, and he mentioned nathan deal from georgia. and then he mentioned notably the governors in the states he didn't carry. >> bill: but absent from the list, bobby jindal huh? >> absolutely. and that was funny. because jindal spoke an hour after romney. no one cares what mitt romney thinks all that much but after romney finished before jindal took the stage, the crowd just started pouring out. they weren't excited to hear bobby jindal which was a big change from a year ago, and then

when he did take the stage he delivered the same speech that i have seen him give a half a dozen times now, that he gave n las vegas and then in charlotte and then mixed up the same growth -- the party needs to growth speech with his gridiron material. he literally retold verbatim the jokes, including where he said it's great that we have attorney general eric holder with us and then elizabeth warren is in the audience. >> that's awesome. >> bill: you would think he would be able to self edit. >> a little bit. >> too bad we don't have eric holer here tonight. >> bill: yeah.

oh, my gosh. and then of course the -- we know that the reason you dedicated four days of your life to cpac was to hear sarah palin again. here is sarah palin, she -- she seems -- she was invited to throw one liners at president obama, huh? like this one. >> and background czech czech -- checks i guess to learn more about people's thinking. more background checks the idea, mr. president would have started with yours. >> bill: it seemed like it was a pretty lame performance. >> a lot of republican establishment types were joking that sarah palin should have been vetted too before john mccain chose her. >> bill: yeah. >> i mean she's -- she's changed

from politician to entertainer. she brought her -- >> bill: she has a long way to go. >> and a republican told my colleague last week she is the kim kardashian of the republican party. she is not going to run for office again. now she has lost her fox news contract. so one really -- she doesn't have the ability to move the needle that she did a few years ago. >> and so sarah palin knows that the only way to get shock value now, the bar is much higher so she has to do things like carry a big gulp with her. and it's just a prop. >> she is like carrot top. she is a prop comedian. >> bill: i saw the carrot top

show. it was funny. especially when you are drunk. [ laughter ] >> bill: no he is genuinely funny. she is not. if she is going to be an entertainer then she has to get good writers and better material. >> she has a very good sense of the erogenous zones of republicans. >> bill: right. then they have the straw ballot. rand paul ekes out a slim victory over marco rubio, but they liked rand paul's message, and his message was --

>> yeah, the republican party needs to completely change. we need to move, and it totally resinated. he won 25% of the straw poll. and the rand paul wing of the republican party is probably 25% at its outer respond. the unofficial slogan of the republican conference was stand with rand. this is part of a continuing effort by him and his people to broaden his base beyond the ron paul wing of the party to something that is palatable in

2016. >> bill: john mccain has apologized for calling rand pall a whacko bird and lindsey graham's potential oppoeb poen -- opponent has called for rand paul to apologize to him. >> yes, and they weren't going to comment on it and this senator is really capitalizing on the frustration with lindsey graham. but lindsey graham has a $6 million war chest already, but there's frustration. and it shows where the party is moving. two years ago no one would have hesitated to criticize rand paul, and no it's like sarah palin used to be where they were nervous to say anything

critical about her because they were concerned about a backlash from the base. >> bill: all right. i love it. it's like civil war within the republican party. james is here from "politico" helping us all about cpac. we'll be right back take your calls too at 866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." this show is about analyzing criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care vo: the war room tonight at 6 eastern

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current tv. >> bill: twelve minutes before the top of the hour here. james hohmann from political in studio with us. good to have you with us james. and peter you are following the social media. >> bill: yes the story about elizabeth hasselback may be on her way out, sarah palin may step in and take her place. >> bill: oh she would have to work five days a week that will never happen. >> that's true. >> bill: james rubio's message was, hey, we don't need to change. >> it's the box, not the pizza. >> bill: right yeah.

if you just take that vote it looks like the republican party is really split about what the problem is. reince prebus has come out with the autopsy report, which by the way i'll make the point again, i don't know why they are calling it an autopsy because you don't conduct an autopsy on living people expected to get better. you conduct autopsy on a dead person. >> yes. and one of the things they are making a big deal about today is how there were too many presidential primary debates. that that many debates kills the

candidate. try telling that to barack obama. it wasn't that there were too many debates, it was that mitt romney moved to the right to win the nomination. and that's kind -- that gives you an encapsulation of what the party thinks is the problem. >> bill: but also i have to say that i think mitt romney was the best of the bunch, and if they would have had fewer debates they might have gotten stuck with mischel balkchmann -- >> right. >> bill: on same-sex marriage this i thought was interesting, any other time at any other republican gathering, this would have been the hot-button issue,

right? it didn't seem to be that way? >> people did not want to talk about the rob portman news. people didn't want to engage -- they didn't want to con semihim or support him they just didn't want to talk about it. someone like rick santorum who's whole claim to fame are these social issues. but he didn't engage in the meat and bones on the issue, and that is a major change. marco rubio and jim demint both mentioned marriage in their speeches, but they didn't say we should have a constitutional amendment, instead they said the supreme court shouldn't force everyone to recognize gay marriage. that's a huge change.

>> bill: hum. christie, the fact that he got is 7% was this a concern rump group at the convention saying we do have to change and have somebody who has maybe more of an every man kind of approach? >> not getting invited was sort of a gift to chris christie. he is up for reelection in new jersey a state that obama just won by 18 points. so if he had come it is actually very likely he would have gotten booed, but there were a lot of people who were upset that someone like donald trump came but not chris christie. >> bill: so he is winning both

ways? >> yeah. and he has plenty of time to re reingratiate himself with the republican party. >> bill: james hohmann great to see you have. >> great to see you. >> bill: i'll be back with the parting shot for today. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

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